Weekly progress on site

Work has now begun on removing the burnt material from the second trickling filter. Contractors finished emptying the first trickling filter before starting on the second.

A total of 25 truck-and-trailer loads carrying 450 tonnes of material was transported to Kate Valley landfill this week. Of these loads, 24 were hardfill, containing concrete and steel from inside the structure. This material was still classified as hazardous waste and was disposed of accordingly, but wasn’t chipped and compacted in the same way as the plastic filter material.

Work underway on removing material from second trickling filter

Check out Wednesday's photo showing our contractors busy at work removing material from the second fire-damaged trickling filter.

All material from the first trickling filter (shown above, on the left) has now been removed.

Commissioning begins on the aeration plant

This week we have started the last major piece of work to put in place our interim solution to improve the treatment of the wastewater.

We have almost made all the adjustments to our secondary treatment system. When all these changes are completed, we expect the ponds to improve over the following six to 12 weeks and to see a reduction in smells being emitted from them.

We will be commissioning the 16 pumps that came via Sweden and China, arriving in New Zealand a month ago. On-site installation of the pumps began on 14 June.

“The new pumps will enable the clarifiers to remove more of the organic matter from the wastewater so that better-quality wastewater enters the oxidation ponds.  This will reduce the organic load on the ponds, and the water quality in the ponds will start to improve over the coming weeks,'' says Head of Three Waters Helen Beaumont.

"Next week we will commission the bypass pipeline, the final piece to complete our interim solution to improve the treatment of the wastewater. When everything is in place, it will take three to six weeks for the biological treatment process to establish. It takes up to 30 days for water to pass through all six oxidation ponds.

“We are on track to address the high level of odours coming off the oxidation pond by early September,'' Ms Beaumont says.

Upcoming community webinar

We’ll be holding an online webinar on  Wednesday 13 July from 7.00pm—8.30pm. This will be an update on our progress at the wastewater treatment plant. It’s also an opportunity to ask any questions you might have about the ongoing smells.

You can register for this by clicking the button below.  You’ll then be sent a link to the meeting.

The week ahead...

Next week work will continue removing the material from the second trickling filter.

We will also be in the process of commissioning the bypass pipeline, the final piece of work needed to complete our interim solution for treating wastewater. Over the coming weeks we expect this new process will improve the health of the oxidation ponds and reduce the odours.   

On Wednesday evening we'll hold an online webinar.  Make sure you register above to receive the link.

Stay updated

We want everyone to be able to stay updated on our response and recovery from the treatment plant fire, and we regularly post new information and reports on ccc.govt.nz/wastewaterfire 

We also post regular updates to our blog on Newsline.

If you know of anyone who would like to receive this e-newsletter they can subscribe online. 

If you have any questions, or would like further information on the project, please call us on 03 941 8999 or 0800 800 169 or email wastewater@ccc.govt.nz  

Thanks in advance for your patience and understanding as we continue to work on minimising the unpleasant smells after the fire. We’ll be in touch again soon.